While watching last night’s “Louie,” I tweeted that the opening scene — in which Louie’s comedic integrity leads to him quitting a sitcom — might have been my favorite in the show’s history. That sentiment lasted all of about 20 minutes, when Louie meets with Dane Cook because Cook is Louie’s only hope to get his daughter Lady Gaga tickets.

What ensues is nothing short of brilliant television. Cook, widely accused of stealing some of C.K.’s jokes, gets a chance to defend himself here, and C.K. presents the other side without being accusatory. And while it’s easy to dismiss this with “What’s the big deal? It’s two famous comedians arguing over jokes,” there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s about looking our enemies in the eye and seeing them as humans; it’s about letting go of anger; it’s about doing things you don’t want to do to make your kid happy; it’s about doing things you don’t want to do to make some kid you don’t even know happy. It’s well-written, it’s well-acted, and both comedians come out the other side as more sympathetic people — both as characters on the show and as real people in the viewer’s eyes. Just terrific. A+ for everyone involved. Even Dane Cook.

(thanks to Videogum for uploading this — Gabe’s got a nice little screed about this, too.)

Join The Discussion

Can we add Cook to the characters who need to die? In this case since he is playing himself…..

08.05.11 at 12:31 pm

tim

hey girl, it’s my dick in a box

08.05.11 at 12:32 pm

Dave

Your work sucks because you knew this last night and didn’t tell me until today! What a stupid blogger.

08.05.11 at 12:40 pm

Matt

But what was in the box?

Gwyneth Paltrow’s head?

08.05.11 at 12:42 pm

Smello

Dane Cook is looking haggard. He used to be rather handsome, but time has not been kind.

/Corgis please.

08.05.11 at 12:48 pm

Jean-Ralphio

I concur, one of CK’s finest moments!

08.05.11 at 12:49 pm

parks

I had absolutely no idea this was going to happen, and sheer ecstasy stole my face and made me smile the whole time i was watching. Much like Carlos Mencia steals jokes.

08.05.11 at 12:50 pm

Lisa_from_Illinois

I agree with Smello. Dane used to make me happy in the pants (I *know*, but I have a jerk-magnet in me somewhere. It’s a curse.) but last night he looked AWFUL. I wonder if that douche canoe he’s been carrying for eight years is wearing on him.

08.05.11 at 12:52 pm

AnonymousPoster

C to the O to the R to the G to the I to the S to the !!!!!!

08.05.11 at 12:53 pm

Josh K.

I actually didn’t see it as letting go of anger. They’re both as equally frustrated with the situation as they were before: Cook because he still can’t get C.K. to say he didn’t steal his jokes, and C.K. because he got parenting advice from a supposedly douchey, rich comedian.

Still, an amazing episode. And C.K. was totally a bigger dick than Cook, which is something I never thought I’d say.

08.05.11 at 12:55 pm

gamebl0uses

dane’s face was pockmarked as fuck. that and all the cocaine he’s been doing led to him looking so haggard. it was incredible episode though. i also didn’t think it could get any better than the opening scene, but, wow.

08.05.11 at 12:56 pm

AK

Dear Dane Cook, people don’t dislike you because of a few stolen jokes, they dislike you because you’re a douchebag.

08.05.11 at 12:59 pm

Matt

I actually didn’t see it as letting go of anger.

Not long term, but in the moment. Cook vents at Louie, but still says that he’ll get him the tickets, backstage passes, whatever he wants.

08.05.11 at 1:00 pm

Vince Mancini

I think that’s a pretty perfect explanation of how a comic can steal a joke without realizing that he stole it. Sometimes it’s just so back in your subconscious that you think you thought of it, when you really just heard someone else say it.

That said, Carlos Mencia is still a dick because he was clearly doing it knowingly and maliciously.Dane Cook may be kind of a D-Bag, but he’s not quite a full sociopath.

08.05.11 at 1:04 pm

Watanabex

I like Dane cook again after this

08.05.11 at 1:05 pm

Mickey

Your “Sworn enemy” invites on his show. You agree. Helping him get ratings and you getting to help clear the air telling you side of the story. All the while knowing that you won’t be allowed to outright say you did nothing wrong for the sake of the tv show.

The next day people still call you a douche.

08.05.11 at 1:11 pm

SnipWilson

@Vince exactly. It was a great conversation, and it can be applied to all of the arts. Writers feud about these sorts of issues all the time.

I was confused about that opening scene though. When Louis talks to the baby, he calls her “Lily.” Was this a flashback? Or was he talking to the actor/prop baby?

08.05.11 at 1:16 pm

Can't Use My Real Name Anymore

I think that appearance can only help Cook’s reputation. Big balls to come on another comic’s show, and face the wrath, and then do without them making him to be a giant douche, he comes across as the bigger man.

Not saying I like Cook just impressed.

08.05.11 at 1:23 pm

Patty Boots

I feel sort of bad for Dane Cook. He strikes me as a former spazzy fat kid who just desperately wants to be liked. Not saying he’s a great comedian and that a lot of the criticism isn’t valid, but he’s not the worst.

08.05.11 at 1:23 pm

clueheywood

Wow, I never though I’d say that I enjoyed something Dane Cook did, but there it goes. Still, does Cook really think the mouthbreathing Affliction-wearing fans of his screaming-and-slapstick act really care about where the jokes came from? Or specifically the Louis CK controversy? I’d think they just want him to tell some kinda dirty jokes, tell them louder than other people, and move around a lot. Comedy!

08.05.11 at 1:25 pm

Aeyo's Cot

This is the creepiest thing I’ve seen in weeks. And August is charity golf scrambles and strip club month so that’s saying something.

08.05.11 at 1:26 pm

Josh K.

@Matt True. Much to Cook’s credit, he played the scene extremely well. Although he’s on the verge, he never fully lashes out at Louie and admirably keeps his composure.

As for the joke-stealing: when Robin Williams, who has admitted to “taking” jokes, was on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, he basically said, “I went a million miles per hour during my act [Ed. note: COCAINE], and I say every funny thing that comes into my head, some of which isn’t my own material.” He apologized and paid the comics whose jokes he took, and everyone was happy.

08.05.11 at 1:29 pm

Josh K.

@Snip, It was a flashback, roughly nine years earlier, when he was still living with his wife. My guess is that the scene was a behind-the-scenes, only slightly exaggerated look at Saint Louie, C.K.’s failed (thank God) pilot for CBS in the early 2000s.

08.05.11 at 1:31 pm

The Jersey Devil

I might be in the minority, but I’ve always liked Dane Cook, though not quite as much as “happy in the pants” Lisa. Maybe as happy in the pants as one guy can be about another guy without actually being gay? Yeah, let’s go with that.

08.05.11 at 1:33 pm

Witty Phrase

I see this as a tacit admission of guilt on Cook’s part. Even the wink and nod implied by “It’s great that you feel bad, sitting here alone in this room with me” just feels loaded with subtext that says “yea I probably did and I’m OK with it because of how fucking great my life has been because of it all, so I’m comfortable setting myself up to be castigated again for it all.”

08.05.11 at 1:57 pm

Carlos Mencia

I didn’t steal shit you honky motherfuckers.

08.05.11 at 2:31 pm

poonTASTIC

you know it’s a remarkable scene when you sit on your couch and feel awkward about the conversation that’s taking place on screen. I love the fact that neither backed down from said accusations.

08.05.11 at 3:04 pm

Alcoholics Gratuitous

I see the same conversation going down between George Lopez and Carlos Mencia. Only a lot less funny. And instead of a fruit/cheese (whatever that was) platter, there’s a bowl of finger nails, and Lopez is just waiting to see if Mencia can keep himself from eating one.

08.05.11 at 3:29 pm

supersalvadoran

@Alcoholics Gratuitous

Knowing how much Lopez hates Mencia, all I see going down in that conversation is a non-stop curbstomping while Lopez keeps repeating “WEPA, BITCH! WHY YOU CRYING?”

I think I speak for everyone when I say the curbstomping on Mencia will be 100% deserved.

08.05.11 at 4:00 pm

LastTexansFan

Dane Cook > Carlos Mencia. I think we can all agree on that.

08.05.11 at 4:40 pm

GiantCrab

Too me this episode kind of goes full circle.

The 1st scene, where he is not happy with his show is basically straight out of season 2 of Extras with Ricky Gervais. Which he may have done purposely because the scene with Dane Cook he says that sometimes you subconsciously take things you like and I wonder if he did that on purpose.

That being said, Dane Cook is looking old as shit. Louis looked younger. It must be all the stress because I remember reading something about how his family is stealing money from him or something.

08.05.11 at 5:14 pm

Tim Was Tim

@SnipWilson – I think the baby scene was a flashback to a time when CK must’ve been trying a sitcom that he hated.

08.05.11 at 5:32 pm

Hiyo

@Crab, yeah, his half-brother was his manager for a while, until Cook found out the guy had embezzled a shitload of money, at which point the dude and his wife went to prison (thanks, Wikipedia). Cook’s parents also died a few years ago, which he talked about in some show of his that I watched. Lotsa stress, guess maybe it’s taken its toll.

Anyway, I’ve always enjoyed Cook’s standup. Guilty pleasure, as he definitely does seem douchey, but I like his energy and he tells some good jokes. Never knew about the plagiarism before I heard about and watched this episode. Bummer.

08.05.11 at 6:28 pm

Justin

I’m not a fan of Dane Cook. But I don’t think he’s a conscious joke stealer. And it’s not his fault his success is greater than his material warrants. If you really, really hate Dane Cook, and you’re merely indifferent to all the other comedians of only middling talent, I’d guess you’re probably an asshole. Just my opinion.

08.05.11 at 6:42 pm

iwontrememberthis

There’s worse things one could be accused of than having CK’s jokes with Brian Regan’s delivery. I always find it a bit funny when people claim to like them, but say they “always” hated Cook. If you hated all of Cook’s jokes, you hated CK’s (et al’s) jokes.

08.05.11 at 10:56 pm

Moose (The Thread Ender)

All jokes are stolen; there is about twenty types of jokes and people change them to their tastes or that of their audience if they are good. Of course you can steal the riff of a comic by using the exact context, which Dane, Mencia, etc. have done and that is low.

Dane Cook = Carlos Mencia for my tastes as both annoy me and I don’t get laughs from either (heartbroken that Justin thinks I’m an asshole). When he was being over-exposed he just became more annoying and a few of his rants were offensive to me, so yeah I dislike him quite a bit.

But teh funny is a personal taste much like movies, TV, and music; to say someone is a dick for liking/ not liking is ludicrous and a bit dickish in and of itself. But someone’s “taste” in those can be an indicator of whether you have other things in common with them. For instance Larry the Cable guy is very fucking popular and successful.

Different style and approach by these two, not sure where you get that as the meaning of the riff is different when told by either.

08.05.11 at 11:39 pm

mike

I like that Dane called didn’t back down and called louie out in regards to being a comic’s comic. I’m a huge C.K fan (and not a fan of Dane that much) but the fact that Louie has had some big HBO specials, is on late night ever few months, has a successful series, it’s hard not to consider him mainstream any more.

08.05.11 at 11:51 pm

Johan

Dane Cook was never funny… but this season neither is Louis C.K.

The show has gone seriously downhill after a great first season.

08.06.11 at 1:15 am

Moose (Sword of Damocles)

Oh shit; I was laughing at it and I didn’t even realize it wasn’t funny. Damn! Thanks for letting me know so I won’t laugh anymore.

08.06.11 at 2:20 am

Picture Carolina

That was amazing!

08.06.11 at 10:46 am

SK

Ummm…wtF was that I just subjected my poor eyeballs and brain to? Congrats, uproxx…credibility now at zero.

08.06.11 at 10:50 am

Justin

@Moose – You could have been spared the trouble of defending yourself unnecessarily had you bothered to read the middle clause of my “asshole” sentence above.

08.06.11 at 10:58 am

Justin

@SK – Good call! Why is Warming Glow recommending Louie all of a sudden? The bloggers of Uproxx always hated this show, and now CLIPS?! I was reading FilmDrunk yesterday and Vince compared Louis CK and Alison Brie to some kind of shit-based sandwich. I was like, “Haha, shit can’t be in sandwiches!!!” (He said it funnier than me LOL)

08.06.11 at 1:34 pm

jim

This was the best 30 minutes of television in history. Perfect in every sense. Exposes the bs of mainstream sitcoms that Louie C.K. rails against in five minutes, exposes dane and louie as humans just like us, and then exposes life as the thing that pees on your head every day no matter how hard you try (the daughter’s tickets). just perfect

08.06.11 at 4:04 pm

Moose (Sword of Damocles)

Justin; yes I should have put “probably” in that sentence; that would have made it much more accurate.

Wasn’t really defending myself, just stating my opinion; which, on the internet pushes me in the direction of assholyness, asshatery, or assholitude all by itself.

P.S. while I don’t think Louie C.K. show is as funny as it was last year, he is exploring more that just teh funny and I’m enjoying it more.

08.07.11 at 8:19 am

Max Dipshit

Every person that hears a great joke from a friend goes running out and tells a few people. Like the time I found out what you get when you hit a baby with a sledge hammer. (an erection). So basically, everyone hates dane cook because he does exactly what every other asshole on the planet does, and that’s tell a good joke to someone else for a cheap laugh. That being said, I still hate dane cook

08.08.11 at 8:14 am

Super B

This scene is amazing, words cannot describe… Louis C.K. is so audacious in all of his work and this just reaffirms it. Best comedian on the planet

08.08.11 at 5:35 pm

Rufus

What a douche Dane Cook is. Even though this is scripted, the idea that he (in character as himself) would biatch about Louie not seeking him out to make things right is laughable. Dane could EASILY have been a man and gone to Louie right at the beginning…but no, he just sat back like a biatch for 5 years.